Iranian consecration of Irish nationalist ‘martyrs’: the Islamic Republic of Iran and the 1981 republican prisoners’ hunger strike in Northern Ireland

This article focuses on the official and semi-official Iranian coverage and representation of the 1981 republican prisoners’ hunger strike in Northern Ireland and the related corporeal constructs of the hunger strikers as ‘martyred’ bodies. The particular characterization and utilization of Irish republican hunger strikers by media outlets, officials, and other propagandists of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) was an instance of groups outside Northern Ireland appropriating Irish nationalist bodies for their own ends. IRI commentators re-articulated the starving bodies of Irish republican hunger strikers, re-infusing them with symbolic meanings in a cross-cultural and ideologically laden configuration in the service of IRI’s self-projection as the patron of worldwide struggles for justice and liberation against the twin forces of imperialism and domestic opponents. In the process, IRI added its own layers of agency and politically crafted somatic meaning to the hunger strike. Meanwhile, IRI’s extensive advocacy of the republican hunger strike in Northern Ireland was eagerly welcomed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA), to which most hunger strikers belonged; with PIRA and its political wing, Provisional Sinn Féin, hoping to secure diplomatic recognition, and possibly material aid, from the Iranian government for bolstering PIRA’s domestic and international standing vis-à-vis the British government.     

Providing for the hungry? Famine relief in the Russian Baltic province of Estland, 1867–9

This article explores the measures taken by the institutions of state government, the nobility, communities and charitable committees to relieve suffering in Estland during the hunger crisis of 1867–9, examining the share of relief borne by local resources and central administration. Through comparisons with Russian and Finnish famine experiences, it demonstrates that the functioning and efficiency of famine relief were strongly influenced by patterns of landownership as well as political and social factors. Estonian peasants received their share from the imperial funds but these were clearly inadequate to meet their needs. The government not only spared the purse but was also determined to follow the laissez-faire policy of non-interference in markets. The communities were unwilling to provide for the landless and the Baltic German landlords kept aid to the minimum for both farmer peasants and the landless. Institutional responses were shaped by the belief that all able-bodied persons had to provide for themselves, which was hardly possible due to the extreme lack of jobs and the legal restrictions on out-migration from the province. The severity of famine in Estland was a result not of inadequate resources but of inadequate responses, which were shaped by the dynamics of class relationships.     

Choosing hunger

In much of the academic literature, hunger is treated as a problematic condition that affects people against their will. However, this focus ignores the many instances in which people actively choose to go hungry. The clearest examples are cases – such as dieters, hunger artists, and religious fasters – in which the choice seems voluntary. Yet people forced into famine or starved in concentration camps also make critical, though often subtle trade-offs related to hunger. This paper explores two fundamental characteristics that help to clarify the differences between various cases of hunger: the degree of choice and the severity of the consequences. By emphasizing the centrality of choice and providing a framework for the analysis of various situations, the paper argues for a re-examination of the concept of hunger.     

Food Security: Rights, Livelihoods and the World Food Summit–Five Years Later

An international Summit was called for June 2002 aiming to reaffirm the commitments of the 1996 World Food Summit and intensify efforts to halve the number of hungry people in the world to 400 million by 2015. However, progress on achieving this target is open to question. This paper analyses recent policy debates in two areas: first, the right to food and freedom from hunger; and second, the measurement of food insecurity at global and national levels. It agrees that the "World Food Summit–five years later" (WFS–fyl) should reaffirm commitment to the right of all people to food and freedom from hunger and the commitment to raise the resources required to achieve this. A rights–based approach to food security implies that policies be defined and actions taken to reduce hunger by a range of local, non–governmental, governmental and international actors. However, reliable information on who the hungry are and where they are situated is required in order to track progress to WFS targets and identify and implement appropriate actions at the global, national or subnational levels. The inter–agency Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping Systems (FIVIMS) plays a key role in generating information on trends of the numbers of food–insecure in the world, but the robustness of its "undernourishment" measure has been debated. The paper concludes by outlining practical ways to improve food security analysis, indicating the potential contribution of rights–based and livelihoods approaches.     

China’s development of a multi‐tier pension system

China has made a number of major changes to its pension system in the period 2014–2020, and is in the process of establishing a multi‐tier old‐age pension system, consisting of programmes provided by the government, voluntary programmes provided by enterprises, and voluntary programmes established by individuals. Policy objectives are to reduce the fragmentation in its pension system; deal with population ageing; and diversify risks by involving the government, enterprises as well as individuals. This article shows that while China has a complex system for urban workers, the coverage provided by its multi‐tier system is uneven, with the second and third tiers being in the early stages of development.     

系统家庭治疗法及其在中国的应用分析

系统家庭治疗法是家庭治疗中的一支。它在20世纪80年代传入中国,虽然它在中国的发展时间不长,但正在逐渐被人们所认识和接受。本文对系统家庭治疗法的产生和发展历程、其主要方法和技术作了简单介绍,重点分析了系统家庭治疗在中国的发展前景和应用的可行性。     

Does higher income equal higher levels of happiness in every society? The case of the Mayan people

Guardiola J, González‐Gómez F, García‐Rubio MA, Lendechy‐Grajales Á. Does higher income equal higher levels of happiness in every society? The case of the Mayan people This study analysed happiness and several domains of life of Mayan people in the poor rural areas of Yucatan, Mexico. Using a sample of 373 households, we examined the influence of income on happiness and its domains, obtaining results that lend support to the ‘paradox of happy peasants and miserable millionaires’. According to the results, income influences happiness among the Mayan people, as do material domains and health, but income does not influence the domains related to intangible feelings and public goods. A number of reasons, such as a lack of a means for comparison, close contact with nature, adaptation to deprivation, general material improvements compared with the past, low aspirations and a Mayan culture that is devoted to solidarity and enjoyment of social relationships, could explain why the sample population reported high levels of happiness. Although the Mayans' level of happiness is high, their situation nevertheless requires political attention.     

Rural poverty and disability in Ethiopia: Formidable policy challenges

Our study aims to deepen our understanding of the links between rural poverty and disability in Ethiopia. We use panel data for Ethiopia to illustrate these linkages, using rigorous econometric methodology. The 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) explicitly recognise disability as a major impediment to elimination of poverty and hunger. In the current development discourse, disability has thus acquired high priority. Since disability is neither a purely medical nor a social phenomenon but an outcome of their interplay, the policy challenges are formidable.     

Retraction: From urban‐first to urban–rural integration: discourse and the development of social assistant policy in China

Zhang HM (2011). From urban‐first to urban–rural integration: discourse and the development of social assistance policy in China. International Journal of Social Welfare[E‐pub ahead of print, DOI: 10.1111/j.1468‐2397.2011.00791.x]. The above article, published online on 7 April 2011 in Wiley Online Library ( http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ ) has been retracted by agreement between the author, the journal Editors, Sven Hessle and Neil Gilbert, and Blackwell Publishing Ltd. The retraction has been agreed due to overlap between this article and material previously published elsewhere, including: Shi S‐J (2006). Left to Market and Family‐Again? Ideas and the Development of the Rural Pension Policy in China. Social Policy & Administration 40: 791–806. and Bleses P, Seeleib‐Kaiser M (2004). The Dual Transformation of the German Welfare State. Basingstoke, Hampshire, New York, Palgrave Macmillan Press.     

Labor Mobility Without Pension Portability: Migrant Workers’ Endangered Pension Entitlement in China

This paper investigates migrant workers’ endangered pension entitlement in China from a perspective of political economy. The decentralized pension governance structure in China led to limited portability of the urban pension program. The movement of migrant workers challenges this decentralized governance structure, and have also produced clear winner and loser provinces in the pension program. This study argues that the interests of migrant‐receiving provinces, the winners, became a major obstacle in reforms that sought to address the pension portability problem. The migrant workers’ pension issue has in fact contributed to inter‐regional welfare inequality. This resulting inter‐regional inequality makes any central government's plan on centralizing the pension program a challenging task.     

A preliminary theory of managerialism as an ideology

While many know or have used the term Managerialism, the development of a theory about Managerialism remains largely non‐existent. When management becomes an ideology we speak of Managerialism reaching beyond the simple administration of a business organisation. Like many “‐isms”, Managerialism carries connotations to ideology, thereby leading to the question: what would the development of a theory of Managerialism's ideology look like? Since Managerialism has been largely been clarified (Klikauer, 2013 & 2015), this paper builds on these ideas to examine the question of a theory of Managerialism ideology. This is tackled in three steps: the paper discusses what an ideology is; this is followed by a brief outline of twelve characteristics of ideology delivering a threefold definition of ideology and leading to two schools of thoughts; finally, the paper shows how ideology and Managerialism are linked. The paper's key argument is that any theory development on Managerialism cannot avoid the issue of ideology.     

Social Capital in Urban China: Attitudinal and Behavioral Effects on Grassroots Self‐Government*

Objectives. Studies of Western settings, in general, argue that social capital, defined as a set of civic norms and social networks among ordinary citizens, nurtures democratic governance at various levels. Does such a social capital exist in a transitional society such as China? If so, what kind of role does social capital play in affecting individuals' attitudinal and behavioral orientations toward fledging grassroots self‐government in that society? This study is intended to answer these questions, which are crucial for our understanding of China's sociopolitical development as well as for the application of social capital theories in non‐Western societies. Methods. This study is based on the data collected from a representative survey conducted in an urban area in China in 2004. Results. The findings from this study indicate that social capital among urban residents was abundant, and it nurtured the grassroots self‐government system through residents' attitudinal and behavioral orientations toward the system. Conclusions. These findings have strong implications for the future of local democratic governance and applicability of social capital theories in China.     

Teaching and learning communication with children and young people: developing the qualifying social work curriculum in a changing policy context

Twenty years after survey evidence showed that UK social work students could complete their training without having learnt about or worked with children, new research suggests little has changed. There is still no guarantee that any student on qualification will have been taught about or assessed in communication skills with children and young people. This is despite the claim that the pre‐registration award provides teaching and assessment in core generic skills as a foundation for the development of specialist practice roles in agencies. In fact, as this paper shows, a common understanding of what counts as effective communication with children has yet to be consolidated in social work practice and research. This has impeded the process of curriculum development. Divergent expectations about what counts as social work communication with children in a changing policy context may be exacerbating long‐standing uncertainties about how genericism and specialism should be linked in professional education and training. In exploring these issues, this paper seeks to clear the way for the renewed effort that is now required if this aspect of curriculum development is to be effective.     

另一个视角下的信任

本文试图从社会资本的角度来探讨我国日益严重的信任问题。指出信任作为一种社会资本，对社会的发展起着极其重要的作用，从风险社会和社会转型当前两大时代背景来重新审视当前中国的信任问题。以“杀熟”、“三鹿事件”等事件为例，分析当前中国信任何以遭受破坏，并针对社会资本的建设，思考当前我国社会信任的重建。     

The Effect of Family Structure on Female Labor Participation – Empirical Analysis based on the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study

Using 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study baseline data, this paper examines the effects of family structure on labor force participation. In consideration of the possible endogeneity provoked by family structure, we constructed regression models with instrument variables. Intergenerational co‐residence significantly decreases women's labor force participation by 14%, while it has no effect on men's labor supply. One potential reason for this result is residential circumstance. As it is custom to live with elderly parents in multi‐generation families in China, adult women often share the burden of all housework and are responsible for elderly care; thus, cohabiting with parents seems to have negative effects on female labor participation. On the contrary, Chinese culture dictates that men do not spend as much time as women on housework, thus, the probability of working in the labor market is not influenced by residential circumstance. If women were freed from housework responsibilities, the implication is that their participation in the labor force would increase.     

From State Security Model to Selective + Residual Security Model: Health care regime shift in urban China

Based on the study of welfare states, welfare regime theory (WRT) has been widely applied to international and regional welfare regimes and to specific‐policy comparative studies. However, the health care system has often been neglected in this area of study. The current study promotes a health care regime approach that is influenced by WRT and incorporates analysis of the level of health care de‐commodification and health equity. Three types of health care regimes were identified in the development of the health care system in urban China: the State Medical Security Model, the Selective Medical Security Model and the Selective + Residual Medical Security Model. This approach provides useful policy implications for the health care reform currently taking place in China. In addition, this analysis contributes to theories in the comparative health policy literature.     

Revitalization of social work in China: the significance of human agency in institutional transformation and structural change

Drastic economic and social transition, emerging social problems, and emphasis of the Chinese government on social harmony as a national policy have created ample opportunities for the development of social work as a profession in the Chinese mainland1 1. In this paper, China refers to the Chinese mainland. in recent years. Besides the phenomenal expansion of social work education, the Chinese government announced a series of national policy initiatives in 2006 to professionalize social work and to assess the professional standard of social welfare personnel. But these achievements would never be possible without the commitment, perseverance and active engagement of the social work community during the past two decades to foster the development of social work in China. In this paper, the authors will present the four stages of development which the social work profession has undergone in China, and will discuss the role of human agency in facilitating institutional transformation and structural change in the process. The active agency of members of the social work community, including educators, Civil Affairs officials, and front‐line practitioners to resist the domination of environmental constraints and to co‐construct a social work profession which is appropriate to the Chinese context will be presented.

近年来, 急剧的经济及社会转型、日益涌现的社会问题及中国政府将建立和谐社会作为国策, 使社会工作在中国成为一个专业获得了空前的机遇。 除了社会工作教育的惊人发展外, 中国政府于2006年宣布一系列创新的国家政策, 推动社会工作专业化以及对社会福利服务人员的职业水平进行专业评估。 然而, 如果没有社会工作社群在过去二十多年来的支持、坚持不懈及积极的参与, 努力地在中国发展社会工作, 这些成就将永远不可能实现。 在本文中, 作者将描述社会工作专业在中国的四个发展阶段, 以及讨论能动性在推动制度转型和结构变迁方面扮演的角色。 作者讨论了社会工作社群的不同成员的积极的能动性, 包括教育工作者, 民政部官员及一线工作者, 如何应对环境制约的支配影响及建构一个适合华人社会为背景的社会工作专业。     

Child protection in China: Changing policies and reactions from the field of social work

This article offers a general review of the development of national policies on child protection in China. It offers an in‐depth analysis of related legislation enacted between 2010 and 2015 that have had an impact on child protection and related historical, cultural and legal issues. Furthermore, in the study we examined the emerging role of social work in preventing and responding to child abuse and neglect in China. Major findings of the research include: (i) policies concerning child protection have been highly influenced by Confucianism and its perspective of the child as family property; (ii) child protection regulations on accident reporting, custody transfer, and surrogate care are gradually being refined and improved, although the legal system for child protection is still incomplete and needs further substantiation; and (iii) the involvement of non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) and social workers has enhanced the child protection system. Key Practitioner Message: ? Policies concerning child protection have been subject to an immense impact by Confucianism, placing strong responsibility on family members in providing childcare although the child is viewed as part of the family's property; ? After 1949, the newly founded socialist political structure began to exert a significant influence on welfare and child welfare policies. Because the Confucian perspective emphasised family and parental responsibility, government in China has traditionally not been heavily involved in policies that interfere in the internal workings of families; ? Since the shift toward an open‐door policy in 1979, child protection policies in China have begun to develop, with a child welfare network gradually spreading to cover the majority of children. Moreover, child protection is generally supported by the legal system, within which regulations on accident reporting, custody transfer and surrogate care are gradually being refined and improved. However, despite the huge progress achieved in recent years, there are significant deficits in its implementation and monitoring; ? The involvement of non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) and professional social work services has promoted a child protection system.     

社会工作研究的理念类型分析——基于《社会工作》下半月（学术）的文献研究

2006年起,我国社会工作开始进入了较快的发展时期,分析过去3年（2006～2008）的研究经验,将有助于探究如何在新条件下推动社会工作的发展。本文运用理念类型分析的研究方法,使用社会工作研究的理念类型分析架构,对近三年《社会工作》下半月的学术论文进行分析。研究发现：近三年的社工学术研究,研究内容偏向宏大叙述,轻视实务研究;研究的社会单元聚焦于宏观系统;研究对象较局限于儿童青少年、老年等传统领域;而我国社会工作研究的理念类型为：“社会问题—社群一儿童青少年”理念型。文章就社会工作的学科状态、研究使命、服务目标和介入取向进行深入探讨,并对今后社会工作的发展方向提出建议。认为要借鉴国际经验。建构本土特色;重视学科理论。强调研究方法;提升实务能力,强化证据为本。     

Asset‐based policy in rural China: an innovation in the retirement social insurance programme1

In response to growing rural–urban inequality, China is undertaking a series of policy initiatives to promote rural development. In addition to redistributive policy aiming at social protection, asset‐based policy, which integrates social protection and social investment, are a viable option for progressive rural development. In 1998, the Hutubi local government in Xinjiang, China, implemented an innovative retirement programme that allows account holders to use accounts as legal collateral to borrow small loans and invest in productive assets, education, and small businesses. Using the data gathered by the programme organizers and in‐depth interviews with programme participants, this case study closely examines the Hutubi programme. We examine the programme's key features, which have effectively encouraged asset building in a rural community, and identify the programme's strengths and weaknesses. The success of the Hutubi programme has implications for asset‐based policy development in rural China.

为了回应城乡日益扩大的不平等, 中国现正实施一系列新政策以鼓励农村发展。 除了以社会保护为目的的再分配政策外, 资产为本的政策综合了社会保护和社会投资, 是推进农村进步性发展的可行选择。 1998年, 中国新疆呼图壁地区政府实施了崭新的养老计划, 容许户口持有人利用保险户口作为法律担保, 借出小额贷款及投资在具有效益的资产、教育及小型企业上。

透过项目组织者所收集的数据, 以及与参与者进行的深入访谈, 本研究个案将详细剖析呼图壁项目。 我们检视了项目的主要特征, 这些特征有效地促成了农村社区资产的建立。 我们还分析了项目的优缺点。 呼图壁项目的成功对中国农村实行资产为本的政策发展有着深远的启示。